Last night I tweeted that I had found my go-to recipe for sea bass. I’ll elucidate.

I had arrived early (early for me) at the greenmarket that day, so there was a huge selection at the fish stand. Filtering out the various finfish and shellfish I’d cooked recently, which accounted for a good number, I narrowed our dinner choice down to 2 very fresh half-pound sea bass fillets. A few minutes later I found some terrific-looking greens, and a favorite crunchy multigrain baguette.

I thought I was all set, but once I arrived home I remembered that I had a lot of ramps, and a small bag of oyster mushrooms in the refrigerator.  I had been determined to prepare the fish in the most minimal way I could this time, and concentrate on producing a beautiful crispy skin, so I worked at coming up with a recipe that would fit the new program. What you see above was the product, and the tweet described my excitement with the result.

I’m only sorry I didn’t spend a little more time on the photograph above, because the meal tasted far more exciting than it looks.

I placed some radishes on the kitchen counter for the cook and his muse to nibble on while before the meal was served.

• *scrubbed radishes, really good ‘French breakfast radishes’ from Eckerton Hill Farm, together and a small dish of Maldon salt (from the River Blackwater estuary in Essex, England)

Otherwise the dinner was contained in one course.

• *three stems of spring garlic from from John D. Madura Farm, cut into one-inch lengths, sautéed until softened in a little Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil and Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ inside a large rectangular, enameled cast iron pan over medium heat, then removed and discarded, or maybe set aside for another day [NOTE: this first step, in which mature garlic could be substituted at other times of the year is definitely optional, especially if the cook is in a hurry], a little more oil and butter added, the flame raised to medium-high and two nearly-8-ounce sea bass fillets from Pura Vida Seafood Company, previously rinsed, dried with paper towels, and seasoned with sea salt, added to the pan and seared, skin side down first, for 3 to 4 minutes (the skin should be nicely golden and fairly crisp by then), turned over and cooked for another minute or so, removed and placed on 2 plates, kept warm, either in a warm oven or tented with aluminum foil, while 2 ounces of chopped yellow oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation were added to the skillet and sautéed until slightly undercooked, more oil added once again, if necessary, and a dozen or so trimmed and washed young ramps from Lucky Dog Organic Farm tossed in (the bulbs chopped, the greens sliced), and sautéed for roughly one minute, the ramps and mushrooms divided between the 2 warm plates and a bass fillet placed on each ‘bed’, finished with a generous squeeze of an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, and garnished with chopped bronze fennel from Norwich Meadows Farm, ending with lemon wedges placed on the side of the plates [NOTE: the mushrooms are an option, and their quantity can vary a bit, but they really enrich the flavors of both the fish and the ramps]

cooks critique: the bed of mushrooms and ramps should have been more visible; and while I eventually realized the bass had in fact been cooked perfectly, there was a scary moment after I first cut into one of the fillets to check its color and opacity (it’s no fun even contemplating having to return any seafood to a heat source once it’s arrived on the plate); finally, I described it as my “go-to recipe now for sea bass, and yet it clearly includes a few very specifically-seasonal ingredients, so my explanation is that all of those lend themselves to one or more substitutions (mature garlic for spring garlic; any mushrooms, even reconstituted ones, for the oyster mushrooms; almost anything green, herb or vegetable, for the ramps; and all kinds of herbs or micro greens would love to stand in for the bronze fennel

• slices, or more like wedges, of a terrific multigrain baguette from Bread Alone
• one small head of a northern Italian tardivo radicchio from Flatiron Eataly [I felt guilty that it wasn’t local, but it looked so pretty on the shelf, I love that very special chicory, and I realized it meant I wouldn’t have to wait maybe 6 months for the wonderful Campo Rosso Farm‘s crop for my next hit], washed under cold running water, the moisture shaken off, cut in 4 sections lengthwise and a V-cut made most of the way through the root end, allowing that part to cook more rapidly, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged inside an enameled cast iron pan over medium-high heat, one of their cut sides down, each covered with a couple of rosemary sprigs from Stokes Farm, cooked for a few minutes then turned onto a second cut side and cooked for a few more, and finally turned and cooked briefly onto the third, before they were arranged on the plates [note: the tardivo can be served either hot or warm, so it’s an excellent low-stress accompaniment to meats or fish]
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Jacqueline Bahue Carte Blanche Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music was the Berlin Classics album, ‘Vivaldi: La Venezia di Anna Maria’

Together we opted for the simplest of the recipes I’ve used in preparing sea bass, because the cook was tired, but also because this time the muse wanted something more like comfort food than delicate display. Ironically, the finished meal described in the picture above looks pretty basic, if not minimal (even to the absence of any of my usual micro green garnishes this time).

• two 7-ounce black sea bass fillets from American Seafood, rinsed, dried, and placed skin side down inside a tin-lined copper au gratin pan in which a teaspoon or so of olive oil had been poured and brushed around the surface, the fish seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with a mix of parsley from Eataly; lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge; sage and thyme, both partially-dried, from Phillips Farm; mint from Windfall Farms; and a bit of a home-dried heatless, orange/ gold Habanada pepper (from fruit grown by fresh Norwich Meadows Farm last fall), the fish topped with a coating of homemade bread crumbs, and drizzled with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, placed inside a 425º oven for 9 or 10 minutes, arranged on 2 plates, finished with a squeeze of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a light drizzle of olive oil
• three Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market, halved, arranged around the bass inside the pan in the last 3 or 4 minutes of their cooking, placed on the plates next to the fish, finished with chopped parsley

• one small bunch of cavalo nero from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted briefly inside a large vintage tin-lined copper pot in a tablespoon or so of olive oil in which 2 cloves of Keith’s Farm Rocambole garlic had first been heated, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, drizzled with a little more oil
• the wine was an Italian (Umbria) white, Trebbiano Spoletino ‘Farandola’ Di Filippo 2016, from Astor Wines
• the music was Francesco Cavalli’s, opera, ‘Gli Amori D’Apollo E Di Dafne’ (The Loves of Apollo and Daphne), which premiered in Venice during the Carnival season of 1640, performed by the Ensemble Elyma

Yes, the meal began with a few oysters.

• eight oysters from the south shore of eastern Long Island, from American Seafood Company, described by the fish monger, when I asked for a name, as close to Blue Points, served on the half shell with nothing else but bread
• slices of a crusty mini baguette from Bread Alone

The images I took of the main course didn’t make the cut, so I’m only uploading some ‘before’ pictures of the sea bass, the garnish, and the vegetables, beginning with the sea bass as I found it in their bucket at the Union Square Greenmarket that afternoon, and then the two chosen ones resting on a platter before they were prepared for cooking.

The next images are of the egg used to coat the fillets, after it was whipped with some chopped parsley; the pea greens ,as they appeared in the market, that garnished the bass once it was on the plates; the halved potatoes, before they went into the oven; and the beautiful tender collards that accompanied the other ingredients.

• two 8-ounce fillets of black sea bass from Pura Vida Fisheries, dredged in some seasoned coarse stone-ground flour which had been spread across a plate, then dipped in a mixture of one Americauna chicken egg from Millport Dairy Farm which had been whipped with a few tablespoons of chopped parsley parsley from Westside Market, the fish sautéed for a couple of minutes in a mixture of butter and olive oil inside a vintage heavy, oval tin-lined copper pan, skin side down first, then turned, sautéed for another couple of minutes (until the fish was cooked through; the time will vary each time with the size of the fillets and the height of the flame), removed from the pan and the heat now turned off, placed on 2 warm plates, and what juices remained in the pan were scattered with some pea greens from Windfall Farms and pushed around with a wooden spatula for a moment, greens and juices then divided onto the top of the fillets, finishing with a squeeze of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, and dressed with more pea greens
• four oval medium Nicola potatoes from Hawthorne Valley Farm, scrubbed, halved unpeeled, tossed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, a little picante Spanish paprika, a large pinch of dark home-dried habanada pepper, arranged cut side down on a small Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, roasted at about 375º-400º for about 20 or 25 minutes, roasted at about 375º for about 20 or 25 minutes, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with chopped winter savory from Stokes Farm
• one bunch/spray of tender collard greens from Eckerton Hill Farm that had been grown in their greenhouse (it was still January), washed twice, drained, some of the water retained and held aside, to be added as the greens cooked, if necessary (it wasn’t this time) cut roughly, braised until gently wilted inside a heavy vintage, high-sided, tin-lined copper pot in which one halved Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat over a low flame with some olive oil, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a small drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Savoie) white, Denis & Didier Berthollier, Chignin Vieilles Vignes, 2015, from Flatiron Wines & Spirits
• the music was Helmut Lachenmann’s ‘Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied’, composed for string quartet and orchestra, performed by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Nott, and the Arditti Quartet

It’s all about too much of anything, and in this case, something that doesn’t come cheap, but it’s hard to do portion control when the fish don’t cooperate. I’m not sure about sea bass, but many fish species run in schools.  This time the class was all of a size where 4 fillets were an overly generous portion, but 2 would have been inadequate (I have to bring home an even number), at least without the support of another course or another vegetable. I had time for neither last night.

Since they shrink a bit after they’re cooked, and the size of my vegetable was modest, I don’t think we looked like we were being unreasonably overindulgent once the fillets were on the plates.

Also, they were so good, I had no regrets I that I hadn’t skimped.

The bass just out of the oven.

The radicchio in the pot.

The bread on the cutting board.

• four Black Sea Bass fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, totaling about 19 ounces, placed skin side down inside an enameled cast iron baking pan in which a teaspoon or so of olive oil had been poured, seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with a mix of parsley and lovage from Keith’s Farm, sage from Phillips Farm, thyme from Stokes Farm, and a bit of a home-dried heatless, orange/gold Habanada pepper (purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm last fall), the fish topped with a coating of homemade bread crumbs and drizzled with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, placed inside a 425º oven for 8 or 10 minutes, finished on 2 plates with a squeeze of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a light drizzle of olive oil
• one medium head of radicchio from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced broadly, sautéed until barely wilted inside a large, high-sided tin-lined copper pot with a little olive oil in which one medium Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm and 2 thin sliced French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm had already been heated until they had softened, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a little olive oil
• slices of a terrific ciabatta, made with stone-ground organic unbleached wheat flower, organic corn flower, whole organic oats, salt, yeast, fromfrom Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse at the Union Square Greenmarket
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Thrive on Routine‘, with performances by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, including John Luther Adams’ stunning, single-movement piece, ‘In a Treeless Place, Only Snow’

Continuing a series of minimal dinners, last night I placed one great fish and one great vegetable on the table, using a pretty light hand in preparing each.

I got to the Greenmarket just in time to pick up the last of Haifa’s and Zaid’s Japanese eggplants (the last of the day, that is).

• two 7-ounce sea bass fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dipped in a mixture of an egg from Millport Dairy and several tablespoons of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish then dredged in a local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, sautéed inside a heavy oval tin-lined copper pan for a couple minutes in a mixture of butter and olive oil, first skin side down, then turned and cooked for another 2 minutes, or until the fish was cooked through (the time will vary with the size of the fillets and the height of the flame), removed from the pan and arranged on the plates, where it was sprinkled with the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, and dressed with the pan juices which had been mixed with still more chaopped parsley after the fillets had been removed
• six quite small Japanese eggplants from Norwich Meadows Farm, each cut in half  lengthwise, brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic from Eataly, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the eggplant pan-grilled, turning once or more, then arranged on an oval platter, sprinkled with more chopped peppermint, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lake County) white, Dancing Crow Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Lake County 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Vivaldi’s 1738 opera, ‘L’oracolo In Messenia’ Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante